deed

The curious bid of Walter S. Hines.

Deed Book 86, pages 570-571, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office.

What is happening here? Why did Walter S. Hines intercede to bid for this parcel at auction?

The land had been the property of Frank W. Barnes, who died in May 1910. His widow Mattie Bynum Barnes was administratrix of his estate; Alice Barnes Harriss was their daughter. Per a judgment of Superior Court (effectively, probate court), the parcel went up for public auction on 10 December 1910. Walter S. Hines was highest bidder at $3000. However, on 19 December 1910, he transferred his bid to Alice Harriss, who paid the money and received the deed for a 71-acre tract adjoining “J.D. Farrior, S.H. Vick, the Clark heirs, the Amerson place, and others.”

The tract appears to be the land later known as the Wright Farm, which wraps around two sides of Vick Cemetery. Here’s the ever-helpful plat map of the farm, which comprises now comprises two tracts with different (but related) owners. Vick Cemetery is the rectangle just above and right of center. The corner vicinity map shows the original parcel, which I believe to be that which Walter Hines bid upon.

Plat book 38, page 198.

Why was he part of this transaction? 

The division of Hardy Lassiter’s land among his sons.

Deed book 16, page 326-327, Edgecombe County Register of Deeds Office, Tarboro, N.C.

——

Hardy Lassiter Sr.‘s land was divided among his sons Hardy Jr., Green, and Matthew Lassiter after his death. At the time of partition in 1854, the land was in Edgecombe County. Wilson County was formed the following year.

Obedience Lassiter receives her dower land.

Deed book 26, page 309, Edgecombe County Register of Deeds Office, Tarboro, North Carolina.

We’ve discussed Hardy Lassiter‘s estate here and here. Above, we see the 5 January 1854 deed transferring to his widow Obedience Lassiter her dower share of his real estate — “beginning at a small sweet gum in Henry Ruffin line then west to a small water oak on the run of Mill swamp then up the various courses of said swamp to the line of Simon Barnes heirs line then along said line to Nathan Rountree line then along said line to said Ruffins line again, then along said line to the beginning.” Lassiter’s will had not provided for his wife, and she sued for dower.

——

In the 1850 census of Edgecombe County: Hardy Laster, 73, wife Beady, 54, and children Mathew, 26, Silas, 26, Green, 25, Hardy, 21, and Rachel, 20; all described as mulatto. Hardy reported owning $650 of real property.

Everett is given as a gift.

State of N.C. Edgecombe County }  Know that I Jesse Barnes of the County and State aforesaid do give unto my son in law Orren Bulluck of the County and State aforesaid one negroe boy by the name of Evarett about Eighteen years old. The above named negroe I give for the natural Love and affection that I Bare unto my son in law Orren Bulluck. July 27th day 1835 In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal. Joshua Barnes  Jesse Barnes

——

In July 1835, after daughter Edith Barnes Bulluck’s death, Jesse Barnes gave his son-in-law Orren Bulluck an enslaved man named Everett. Jesse Barnes’ son Joshua Barnes wrote out the deed of gift and signed it as a witness. The Barneses lived in what is now Wilson County; Bulluck, on Cokey Swamp in Edgecombe County.

Perhaps: in the 1880 census of Lower Fishing Creek township, Edgecombe County, farm laborer Everett Bullock, 65, and wife Venus, 60.

Dempsey and Jesse Barnes Papers, Hugh Johnston Collection, North Carolina Memory, lib.digitalnc.org.

Penny Lassiter buys 106 acres.

On 15 October 1853, Penny Lassiter paid Hilliard Thomas $242 for 106 acres of land on “the Tarboro road,” i.e. today’s N.C. Highway 42. To date, this is the earliest found purchase of land by an African-American woman in what is now Wilson County.

Deed book 26, page 258, Edgecombe County Register of Deeds Office, Tarboro, N.C. 

John Artis Jr. buys two parcels.

The Artises were a large extended free family of color with roots in late 17th-century Tidewater Virginia. They began to migrate individually into North Carolina in the mid-1700s, and John Artis Jr. is the earliest Artis recorded in Edgecombe County. In 1765, Artis bought a parcel of land on the south side of Toisnot Swamp in what is now Wilson County. He sold it in 1782. His deed reflects the earliest known land purchase by an African-American in the county.

In his groundbreaking (and often conjectural) study of colonial free people of color, Paul Heinegg posited John Artis Jr. as the ancestor of several Artises who appear in Edgecombe County records in the late 1700s and very early 1800s, including Absalom Artis, who died in Wayne County circa 1864. However, the links, if any, between John Artis Jr. and the Artises featured elsewhere in Black Wide-Awake is not known.

——

North Carolina } To all persons to whom these presents shall come I Jesse Blackwell send Greeting This Indenture made the 10th day of June Anno Dom. one thousand seven hundred & sixty five Between Jesse Blackwell of the County of Edgcombe Planter of the one part & Jno. Artiss Jr. of the County afs’d of the other part Witnesseth that for the consideration of this sum of ten pounds [illegible] money to him in hand paid by the sd. Jno. Artiss before the sealing & Delivery of this Presents the Receipt thereof Is hereby Acknowledged & the sd. Jno. Artiss thereof & every part thereof acquitted & Discharged hath given granted Bargained Sold Aliened Enfeeofed Conveyed & Confirmed & by these Presents do fully & absolutely give Grant bargain sell convey and Confirm assigned [illegible] over all that tract of parcel of Land unto the sd. Jno. Artiss his heirs & assigns Forever Lying & being in the County of Edgcombe & Province aforesd. Beginning at a maple in the mill Branch then North to Arthur Dews line to a pine & by the sd. Dews line and Hickmans Line So. a pine then along sd. Hickmans line to the mill Branch to a live Oak it B part of a Grant granted to the sd. Jesse Blackwell bearing date the third day of Nov’r Anno Dom 1761 To have & to hold the sd. Land & Premises with all Liberties Privileges prophets Benefits & Comodities thereto belonging to gether with the woods Meadows waters & timbers & the Impertinances belonging to the same unto him the sd. Jno. Artiss his hairs for ever he & they Subject to pay the Quitrents Due to his Lordship & the sd. Jno. Artiss his heirs & Assigns forever Shall & may from time to time & at all times for ever here after by Virtue of these presents Lawfully peaceably & quietly have Hold Occupy & Injoy the sd. Land & Premises & all the Appertainances pertaining there to against the Lawfull Claim & Demand of him the sd. Jesse Blackwell against all & every other person or Persons, whom so ever shall & will For ever warrant & Defend & Secure unto him the sd. Jno. Artiss his heirs & assigns forever firmly by these presents in Witness whereof the sd. Jesse Blackwell hath set his hand & assigned his seal the day and the Year first above written Jesse X Blackwell

Signed seald & Delived in presence of Jesse Pitman Nath’l Hickman Sen’r

October Court 1765 The above deed of sale was duly proved in Open Court & on mo[illegible] Ordered to be Regis’d Test Jas. H[illegible]

Deed Book C, page 369, Edgecombe County Register of Deeds Office, Tarboro, North Carolina.

——

This Indenture made this twenty first day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty two John Artis Jun’r of the State of North Carolina & County of Edgecombe planter of the one part & Thomas Vivrett and Thomas Vivrett of the said Place of the other part Witnesseth that I the said John Artis for & in consideration of the sum of Twenty Five pounds Specie to me in hand paid but the said Thomas Vivrett before the Sealing & delivery of these presents the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge & myself to be fully satisfied and contented therewith, Hath granted bargained & Sold aliened enfeoffed conveyed and confirmed & by these presents do grant bargain sell alien enfeofe convey & confirm unto him the said Thomas Vivrett his Heirs and Assigns forever one certain Tractor parcel of Land situate lying and being in the County aforesaid and South side of Tosneot Swamp Viz. Beginning at a maple in the Mill Branch and runs thence down to Arthur Dews line to a Pine, then by the said Dews & Nathaniel Hickman jun’r to a Pine then along the said Hickmans line to a live Oak in the Mill branch, being part of a Tract of Land granted to Jesse Blackwell bearing date the 3rd November 1761, To Have and to Hold the said Land and Premises, together with all Houses, Orchards, buildings ways water & water courses tenements, priviledges and all other profits and priviledges whatsoever belonging to the said Land or in any wise Appertaining to him the said Thomas Vivrett his Heirs and Assigns & to their only proper use benefit & behoof of him the said Thomas Vivrett his Heirs & Assigns forever & I the said John Artis for myself my Heirs Exec’s Admr’s and Assigns doth Covenant & agree to and with the said Thomas Viverett his Heirs Exrs Admires & Assigns that the said land and Premises with the appurtenances to the sd Thomas Vivrett his Heirs Executors Admors and Assigns and I the sd John Artis for myself my Heirs Admrs Admrs & assigns shall and will warrant & forever defend the sd Land and Premises from all Persons whatsoever laying any claim or claims in any wise hereof to him the said Thomas Vivrett his Heirs & Assigns forever, the Taxes of the State only excepted. In witness whereof I the said John Artis have hereunto set my hand and fixed my Seal the day and year above written   John Artis {seal}

Signed Sealed & delivered in the presence of Jas Cobb Stephen Cobb Natha’l Hickman Junr. Benj’a Cobb

Edgcombe County February Court 1783. The execution of the within deed of sale was duly proved in open Court by the Oath of Jas. Cobb a subscribing witness thereto. Ordered ti be registered Test Edward Hall Cl[erk]

Deed Book E, page 256, Edgecombe County Register of Deeds Office, Tarboro, North Carolina.

Hardy Lassiter buys 200 acres in 1829.

This Indenture made this twenty third day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty nine Between Moses Farmer of the County of Edgecombe and State of North Carolina of the one part and Hardy Lasiter of the County and state aforesaid of the second part. Witnesseth that I the said Moses Farmer for and in consideration of the sum of Two Hundred Dollars to me in hand paid the said Hardy Lasiter the receipt where of I do hereby acknowledge do bargain sell and Deliver unto said Hardy Lasiter a certain tract or parcel of Land lying and being in County and State afor said and bounded as follows. Beginning at a pine formally Robert Colemans Corner thence along his line south two hundred & fourteen poles to a hickory in said line Joseph Sims Corner thence along his line East one Hundred and twenty poles to that Corner a stake thence along said line to Isaac Farmers Corner thence south to the first station Containing two Hundred Acres more or less. To have and to hold the above Lands and premises free and Clear unto him the said Hardy Lasiter for ever and I the aforesd. Moses Farmer for myself my heirs Exers. Admrs. and assigns do warrant and defend the said Lands and premises free and Clear unto the said Hardy Lassiter his heirs Exers. Admrs. and assigns forever. In Witness where of I the said Moses Farmer have hereunto set my hand & seal the day and date above written  — Moses Farmer {seal}

signed sealed and acknowledged in presents of Jesse F. Wood, Samuel Farmer

——

This was Hardy Lassiter’s first recorded land purchase in what is now Wilson County. Samuel Farmer, who witnessed the transaction, owned Lassiter’s son John.

Deed book 19, pages 374-375, Edgecombe County Register of Deeds Office, Tarboro, North Carolina.

Hardy Lassiter buys 81 acres in 1846.

This Indenture made this Twenty eighth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & forty six Between James Tomlinson of the county of Edgecombe & State of N. Carolina of the one part & Hardy Lasiter of County & State aforesaid of the other part. Witnessesth that I the said James Tomlins[on] for & in consideration of the sum of Two hundred & fifty dollars & fifty cents to me in hand paid before the sealing & delivering of these presents the receipt whereof I do hereby  acknowledge & myself feeling satisfied contented & paid have bargained sold & delivered unto the aforesaid Hardy Lasiter his heard & assigns forever one tract or parcel of land lying & being in the county of Edgecombe & the East side of Homony Swamp & bounded as follows (viz) Beginning at a pine in Benjamin Simms line then running with his line to the mill swamp then down the various of said swamp to said Simms line again & then nearly west with his line to an oak & pine then N. 8″ west to the beginning containing by estimation 81 acres To have & to hold the above land & premises with all the appurtenances thereunto belonging to him & his heirs forever. And I the said James Tomlinson do for myself my heirs & assigns warrant & forever defend the right & title of said Land & premises unto the said Hardy Lasiter his heirs & assigns forever. In witness whereof I the James Tomlinson have hereunto set my hand & seal the day & date above written  James X Tomlinson [witnesses] Edwin Barnes, Lewis Ellis

——

In the 1850 census of Edgecombe County: Hardy Laster, 73, wife Beady, and children Mathew and Silas, 26, Green, 25, Hardy, 21, and Rachel, 20.

In 1851, Lassiter executed a will whose first provision bequeathed “unto my son Silas Laseter all that tract of Land where he now Lives known by the name of the Tomlinson tract containing Eighty one acres more or less adjoining the Lands of Benj Sims ….” I have not been able to identify the precise location of this property. Hominy Swamp arises near the Wilson airport and runs southeast through present-day Wilson into Contentnea Creek about a mile southwest of Beddingfield High School. Lassiter’s parcel was likely somewhere between Hominy Swamp and Toisnot Swamp north of present-day Raleigh Road.

Deed book 24, page 203, Edgecombe County Register of Deeds Office, Tarboro, North Carolina.

Where was the Tubercular Home?

When Dr. Frank S. Hargrave and Samuel H. Vick envisioned the healthcare facility they would found to treat African-American patients in Wilson, it had two parts — a hospital and a “tubercular home,” i.e. sanatorium, outside town limits.

Wilson Hospital opened on East Green Street in 1913. Later that year, Sam Vick sold a forty-acre parcel south of downtown to The Wilson Tubercular Home, Inc., for $5000.   Vick had bought the parcel in 1902 from S.W. and Jean S. Venable.

Deed book 97, page 313, Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

Despite reports that a building on the site was near completion, the Tubercular Home apparently never opened. 

With the help of Wilson County’s GIS Coordinator Will Corbett, I have identified the rough location of “high sandy knoll self-drained and one-third of which is covered with native pines” upon which a sanatorium and patient cottages were to be built. Pinpointing the area will require additional research in the Register of Deeds office.

911 Mercer Street.

This house is not within the bounds of East Wilson Historic District. However, the blocks of Mercer Street southwest of the Norfolk & Southern Railroad lines have been an African-American residential area since the early twentieth century.

As a result of infill building, this house appears to have been numbered 111, then 909, then 909 1/2, then 911 Mercer. Now heavily modified from its original appearance, 911 Mercer Street was held by the family of John H. and Cornelia Barnes Tillery for nearly 90 years.

On 27 December 1915, John Tillery paid Samuel H. and Annie M. Vick $300 for Lot No. 22 Mercer Street, as shown on the plat map of Winona suburb.

Deed book 102, page 567, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 111 Mercer, owned free and clear, John Tillery, 47, office janitor; wife Cornelia, 35; and children Ernest, 13, Ashley, 8, Jessie, 12, Raymond, 6, Adelia, 4, and Lanford, 1.

In the 1920 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tillery John (c) lab h Mercer nr N S R R

In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tillery John (c) lab h 909 Mercer

Detail of Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, N.C., page 33, 1922.

In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tillery John (c) emp city h 909 Mercer. Also, Tillery Ernest (c) farmer h 909 Mercer

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tillery John (c; Cornelia) farmer h 909 Mercer. Also, Tillery Ernest (c) farmer h 909 Mercer, and Tillery Raymond (c) lab 909 Mercer

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 909 Mercer, owned and valued at $1500, John Tillery, 51, farmer; wife Conielia, 45; and children Jessie, 20, family cook, Ashley L., 18, truck farm helper, Raymond, 16, truck farm helper, Adelia, 14, house maid, Johny L., 11, Elnora, 7, and Clyde, 5. 

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tillery John H (c; Cornelia) lab 909 1/2 Mercer. Also listed at 909 1/2 Mercer: Adelia, cook; Ashley L., laborer; Jessie, cook; and Raymond Tillery, laborer.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 911 Mercer, owned and valued at $1200, John H. Tillery, 66, “hires out and plows”; wife Cornelia, 56, redrying plant stemmer; children Nelora, 17, and Clyde Tillery, 15, “cleans up yards,” and Jessie Williams, 30, cleans and cooks in private home; and granddaughters Alice Rosabelle, 4, and Barbara Anna, 2.

In 1940, Clyde Tillery registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 16 October 1926 in Wilson; lived at 911 Mercer Street; his contact was father John Tillery; and he was unemployed.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tillery Cornelia (c; 2) h 911 Mercer

Wilson Daily Times, 23 November 1945. 

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tillery John (c; 2) h 911 Mercer

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 911 Mercer, John H. Tillery, 68; wife Cornelia, 62, plows gardens at private homes; daughter Jesse B. Williams, 41; and granddaughter Magnolia Williams, 7.

John Tillery died 8 October 1960 at Barnes Rest Home, 626 East Vance Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 18 December 1883 in Halifax County, N.C., to Benjamin and Cherry Tillery; was married to Carnelia B. Tillery; and worked as a city employee. Ashley Tillery, Williamston, N.C., was informant.

Cornelia Barnes Tillery died 6 June 1964 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 80 years old; was born in Edgecombe County, N.C., to Aaron Barnes and Pennina [maiden name unknown]; was widowed; and lived at 911 Mercer Street. Ashley Tillery was informant.

In March 1973, Wilson City Council ordered the demolition of the dwelling at 911 Mercer Street. May 1983, the Wilson building inspector’s office issued Ashley Tiller a permit to demolish a single family dwelling at 911 Mercer. However, when Clyde Tillery died in May 1997, his obituary noted his address as 911 Mercer. 

In October 2004, 911 Mercer Street was listed for foreclosure sale. Details of the notice reveal that the Tillery heirs had mortgaged the property to a real estate company in 1986 and had defaulted on the loan.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, September 2022.